Friday, July 5, 2013

Sprouted Mixed Beans Salad ~ How to grow Sprouts at home

During summer, consuming salad is quite necessary, to consume watery vegetables like cucumber, tomatoes etc. I also add Watermelon and some other fruits in there too. Sometimes I just soak some lentil like Whole Green Moong and add in the salad to add some protein and it gives crunchiness to the salad too. Few days back, I soaked 2-3 types of beans together and soaked overnight for next day salad preperation. While all those beans were soaking, it clicked to me why not sprouting all those beans? And for first time I dared myself to sprout beans at home. For my surprise, the whole process was not very tiring or hard. Obviously it takes time, but it grows itself. We all know the health benefits of Sprouts...if you don't know then read these and start adding sprouts to your diet immediately...............

Few important reasons to eat sprouts :1. Sprout has100 times more enzymes than uncooked fruits and vegetables. Enzymes are special types of proteins that act as catalysts for all your body’s functions.

2. The quality of the protein in the beans, nuts, seeds, or grains improves when it is sprouted. Proteins change during the soaking and sprouting process, improving its nutritional value.

3. The fiber content of the beans, nuts, seeds, or grains increases substantially.
Fiber is critical to weight loss. It not only binds to fats and toxins
in our body to escort them out, it ensures that any fat our body breaks
down is moved quickly out of the body before it can reabsorb.

4. Vitamin content increases dramatically. This is
especially true of vitamins A, B-complex, C, and E. The vitamin content
of some seeds, grains, beans, or nuts increases by up to 20 times the
original value within only a few days of sprouting.

6. During sprouting, minerals bind to protein in the seed, grain, nut, or bean, making them more useable in the body.

7. The energy contained in the seed, grain, nut, or legume is ignited through soaking and sprouting.

Now How to Sprout Beans or Mixed Beans :

Sprouting at home is always best than buying them from market. If you follow the steps, it will never go wrong. Sprouting time varies from 2-4 days. So, plan beforehead if you're making a dish with the sprouts. I used Brown whole chick peas, Green Moong, White and Green peas for this salad. You can use any one or different types of beans together.

The steps :

Wash the beans for 3-4 times in clean water. In a big bowl soak the beans
with the water covering 1 inch above the beans. Soak the beans
overnight.

After overnight of soaking, next morning you'll see the beans swell. If there is any remaining water
on top, then discard it. Rinse a little, cover and keep the bowl for 2 days. Check after a day and you will see the sprouts appearing. After 2
days you will see beautiful sprouts coming out from the beans.

Rinse a little every after 10-12 hours, but do not rinse vigorously.

If you want more longer sprouts, then wait for another day and you 'll see the sprouts getting bigger and bigger every day.

The only time I experiment in making sprouts was during schooling days. Now I am just comfortable with buying it. I adore salads and this is a splattering and inviting healthy one. Love the combo of ingredients, perfect on its own or with others prepared for the day.